The aim of the present study was, by means of discussion highlighting ethical questions and moral reasonings, to increase understanding of the situations of caregivers and relatives of older persons living in a public nursing home in Sweden. The findings show that these circumstances can be better understood by considering two different perspectives: an individual perspective, which focuses on the direct contact that occurs among older people, caregivers and relatives; and a societal perspective, which focuses on the norms, values, rules and laws that govern a society. Relatives and caregivers thought that the politicians were sending out mixed messages: they were praising caregivers and relatives for their efforts, but at the same time the public health care sector was subjected to significant cutbacks in resources. Both caregivers and relatives were dissatisfied and frustrated with the present situation regarding the care of older persons in public nursing homes.

Our aim was to describe Chinese nurses' experiences of workplace distress and ethical dilemmas on a neurological ward. Qualitative interviews were performed with 20 nurses. On using latent content analysis, themes emerged in four content areas: ethical dilemmas, workplace distress, quality of nursing and managing distress. The ethical dilemmas were: (1) conflicting views on optimal treatment and nursing; (2) treatment choice meeting with financial constraints; and (3) misalignment of nursing responsibilities, competence and available resources. The patients' relatives lacked respect for the nurses' skills. Other dilemmas could be traced to the transition from a planned to a market economy, resulting in an excessive workload and treatment withdrawal for financial reasons. Lack of resources was perceived as an obstacle to proper patient care in addition to hospital organization, decreasing the quality of nursing, and increasing moral and workplace distress. The nurses managed mainly by striving for competence, which gave them hope for the future.

The aim of the study was to describe Tanzanian nurses’ meaning of and experiences with ethical dilemmas and workplace distress in different care settings. An open question guide was used and the study focused on the answers the 29 registered nurses’ supplied. The written answers were analysed with a phenomenological-hermeneutic method inspired by the philosophy of Ricoeur. From the findings the theme, ‘Tanzanian registered nurses’ invisible and visible expressions about existential conditions in care’, emerged from the interpretation of the following sub-themes, which appeared from the structural analysis: (1) ‘Suffering from workplace distress’; (2) ‘Suffering from ethical dilemmas’; (3) ‘Suffering from maintaining a good quality of nursing’; (4) ‘Suffering from the lack of respect, appreciation, and influence’; (5) ‘Suffering from a heavy workload does not prevent the registered nurses from struggling for better care for their patients’. In this study, the deep analysis of the Tanzanian nurses’ work situations shows that on a daily basis, they find themselves working on the edge of life and death, while they have few opportunities for doing anything about this situation. One of the conclusions is that the nurses need professional guidance so they can get insight into and also be able to reflect on the situations they are in, while also being made conscious of the fact that they do not have to overload themselves with ethical dilemmas and workplace distress.